Problem making First Batch

I may be wrong, but I thought Hi Mountain was strictly a dry cure. If you want to use the soy and Worcestershire, you should use Tenderquick. Maybe adding the wet ingredients affected the Hi Mountain. Whenever I've dry cured jerky (Hi Mountain) or wet cured jerky (using Tenderquick), I've smoked the jerky for approximately 4 hours, and it turns out fine.

I've got an Elite, which is just a smaller version of the 150.

how thick was the meat cut?

Well , A friend of mine told me this is how he did his and I tryed it, but it didn't work. I cut the meat about 3/16 to 1/4 inch thick. I had to slice by hand.

I can try another batch with some tenderquick and not use the high mountain. What temp. and time do you set yours on?

I've done a thicker cut of meat(more than 1/8"), and it just extends the smoke time. I don't believe that would have made your meat hard in just 2 hrs.

Thanks for your reply Pags and DMassey.

Have you check the accuracy of your smoker temp? It may be running hot. Make sure you calibrate your probe first then the smoker. Two hours @ 288* shouldn't make jerky brittle.

Wheelz,
I didn't check to see if it is calibrated right. I will check it though. I opened the door at 11/2 hrs. and the jerky looked dry then. This was my first attemt at Jerky. I have never had any problems with cooking Brisket,Pork Butts,chicken or Ribs. I am just trying to learn how to make some good Jerky. So any help will be appreciated. Thanks

I've been making Jerky for 14+ years and never used an oven. I've had terrific luck using (cheap) dehydrators found at Amazon, Target, etc. I had a cheap, ghetto, circular one for the last 8 years that made amazing jerky. Point being: You don't need much horsepower, time or money to make a darn tasty batch. You just need some decent hardware that will give you some consistent heat.

With the right rig, making jerky is as simple as making a ham sandwich.

Good luck and let us know how it works out,
~G~